President William Ruto and his deputy Kithure Kindiki interact with some traders when he toured the Sh60 million Kamuw'ogwo fresh produce market in Mwingi North on November 13, 2025/PCS. A new dawn is breaking for small traders popularly known as mama mboga in Mwingi North with the opening of the Kamuw’ogwo fresh produce market, a state-of-the-art trading hub set to enhance business growth and efficiency.
The modern market, inaugurated by President Ruto last week, has been designed with the needs of small-scale traders at its centre.
With space for 200 vendors, it offers a clean, organised and secure environment that is expected to transform how fresh produce is handled and sold in the region.
It is equipped with free WiFi, an ICT hub, cold storage, dry storage, and a room for lactating mothers to breastfeed their babies.
When the new market flung its doors open, the women who have been operating in the open, battling the vagaries of weather such as rain and hot sun, sprang in jubilation.
“We have been operating from the old market, and the situation is not good, we normally place our vegetables on the ground but the new market has stores and raised structures where we put them,” said Joyce Kaluki.
Kaluki, who is also secretary for Kamuw’ogwo Market, said operating in the open comes with a string of challenges including keeping goats and other livestock from roaming around them.
The old market, she explained, did not have a fence and they needed to have a stick in their hands all the time to ward off the goats roaming the market.
“The new one has a shed and we will never operate in the open or get rained on again, it is also spacious unlike the old market which was always crowded," she said.
Joyce Kaluki, one of the traders, outside the imposing Kamuw'ogwo fresh produce market which President Ruto officially handed over to the County Government of Kitui last week/PCS“This is a modern market because it also boasts rooms for lactating mothers, ICT room for online trading, boardroom, modern toilets and ablution room; built in very high standards,” she added.
"As Mama Soko, I think we only have two such big markets in the whole of Kitui County. This market is royal. This market is class. It is high class and you wouldn’t expect such in a local market like ours."
According to her, the new market is now attracting passersby who stop to look at it because of the way it is designed; its magnificence and dominance.
“It is well organised and I believe our business is going to improve because it has aroused the interest of many people. People are coming here to have a look at it because we don’t have such a market in Mwingi North, and we will get more to sell more,” she observed.
According to Kaluki, President Ruto has fulfilled his 2022 campaign promise to Mama Mboga by building modern markets for them in every constituency.
“He has delivered his campaign promise to Mama Mboga because this is the first time we are part of the national development. He said he was going to improve our working environment and he has done it,” she stated.
“He has built a good market for Mama Mboga, and we are not going to operate in the open or on the bare ground. These markets are built with the interest of women and mothers in mind,” she observed.
While opening the market, President Ruto said: “We have an agreement with our traders and especially the small scale traders, to dignify their work and the government has plan to ensure that even Mama Mboga have a good to operate,”
“Waswahili wanasemaa ahadi ni deni na dawa ya deni ni kulipa (a promise is debt and the cure for debt is to pay),” President Ruto said.
“Now Mama Soko here have a dignified place where they can sell their things,” he said, reiterating his commitment to promoting trade in the country," he added.
